1st Father's Day Projects

For my hubby's first Father's Day, I couldn't decide on just one thing for Kingston to make. There were so many ideas that I had floating around of what I wanted to do. I probably could have done more, except with K's recent hospitalization and illness, everything ended up being super last minute. Despite that however, I think Kingston (with the help of Mama) did an awesome job putting together some sweet gifts for Dada's special day!

The first project we did were handprint monsters! I first saw this idea on Pinterest. My inspiration was from the Handprint Monsters by Meet the Dubiens! Kingston has a bunch of nicknames: munchkin butt, schweeps, buggy, monster, etc. He definitely has a devious side! He loves to do things to get a reaction. Sweet little monster! I thought it would be cute to put our own little spin on these in the name of Father's Day! Here is what we came up with:

The next craft we did, was a tape resist project! We love tape resist crafts. It allows Kingston to paint freely, but also make a design in the process. I wanted to write "Dada" on the paper using tape, but had trouble making it look the way I wanted it to free-hand. So, I wrote it out, covered that in tape, cut it out, and re-taped it to a different piece of cardstock. Yup, a total pain in the bum. I know that I could have done it a completely different way, but this was the only way I could visualize it! I sat Kingston down in his chair and chose the turquoise paint for him to use. He enjoyed watching me squirt it onto the paper. 

Please don't judge the dirty high chair straps! We just ate bananas before this project! 

Taping the letters down this way caused them to be raised off of the paper. Kingston loves feeling the texture of the letters and the way the paint felt gliding over the raised letters. I was happily surprised that he didn't pull off any of the letters. He did a great job covering the paper in turquoise paint. 

I told Kingston that we were making a project for Dada. This was met with a shriek and a string of "Dada, Dada, Dada!" 

My dad, Kingston's Grumpy was over the day we did this and sat right next to K as he did his project. This is the first time we have ever had company during a painting project at home. My dad couldn't get over how skilled Kingston was at painting. I was pretty proud of my little guy covering the entire paper with paint like a pro! My father leaned over to get a closer look and K reached out and painted his face. This resulted in an impromptu face painting session! Super fun! 

After K was done, I let the paint dry and then removed the taped on letters. The result wasn't as clean as our normal tape resist paintings, but I like the way it turned out!

The last project we did was a very sentimental one. When we found out that Kingston was a boy, I immediately was drawn to the song Anything Like Me by Brad Paisley. I listened to it my entire pregnancy, crying every single time. I listened to it on the way to the birth center when I was in labor. I listened to it while I was in labor. We sang it to Kingston in the hospital and listened to it on the car ride home. We still listen to it almost 9 months later, and it still makes me cry each time. To think of my sweet baby boy growing up is always bittersweet! This song is so meaningful to us. I wanted to incorporate it somehow into one of Todd's gifts. I decided to go with a simple and sweet set of handprints. Kingston is so compliant when it comes to prints. He holds out his little hands in anticipation and easily lets me print them with no fuss. He made some perfect prints for this project. Going down the entire page, I wrote out the lyrics in pencil. Then when I was happy with the result, I traced over the pencil in a black gel pen. I'm sure I could have figured out a way to digitally do this, but I really like the look of having my writing on it. I feel like it will be something we cherish. I love how it came out. I can't stop looking at it! I bought a frame for it, and will have it all set up for Todd tomorrow morning! 

If you haven't heard this song, you must go straight to YouTube and listen! It is so beautiful. I am excited to give Todd these presents as well as his other gifts tomorrow! I hope that his first Father's Day is very special.